New store openings, whether competitors’ or your own, can significantly affect your store’s visitation and draw, as well as its foot traffic. Placer provides insights into changes in visits and trade areas after a new store opening and helps you understand visitor loyalty and churn.

You’ll be able to answer these questions after reading this article:

1. How did a store opening affect the number of visits to your chosen location?
2. How did the trade area shift after a new store opened?
3. Did a new store opening affect other locations?

Get started with the following steps:

Step 1: Use the Quick Compare Function to see data before and after the new store opening of interest 

This feature allows you to view the same POI^{Point (Location) of Interest.} side-by-side, with different filters in place. In this example, a Costco opened in May 2022 near the Costco shown here, possibly impacting visitation and trade areas at this existing location. 

a. Open the Placer report for the POI, navigate to the three dots in the POI header bar, and click Quick Comparison. Immediately click Go to Report before adjusting any filters - this will open the same POI side-by-side.

Learn about Quick Comparison

b. From your new report view, click Add Filters. Choose Filter per Venue on the right, and then choose the custom ranges you want to use. For example, since this new store opened in May of 2022, we use 6 months before the opening date, and 6 months after the opening date. Highlight the custom range dates and click Apply. Choose Apply again at the bottom of the section.

c. Now you have a simple view of this POI before and after the store opening. After the store opened, you can see that Visits significantly decreased (Metrics) and the location was ranked lower (Ranking Overview). 

d. Click on Trade Area^{Representation of the dispersion of home and work locations that drive traffic to any venue.} in the left sidebar. Scroll down to Trade Area Overlap and you’ll see that the trade area was greater before the opening (Total Trade Area), meaning a reduced reach in the 6 months after the nearby Costco had its opening. 

Learn about Trade Area

Step 2: Request a Placer XTRA Store Opening Impact report

The Store Opening Impact report helps you understand the impact a new store has on other locations. It informs you of your visitors’ loyalty to an existing location, how many visit both locations, and how many have churned and only shop at the new location now. Additionally, you'll be able to see the lost trade area and more. This report works for both additional stores within your chain (to analyze cannibalization) and competitor stores.

a. Navigate to the Advanced Reports page and click on Placer XTRA in the left sidebar. Click on Store Opening Impact (you can first filter by clicking on Retail under Reports Catalog and scrolling until you find it).

b. Search for your shopping center POI in the Name/Placer Id field. In the Date Range field, select ONLY the single date the new store opened. Click the date on the calendar, and select Apply.

Please note that this report can only be run at least 3 months following the store opening. 

c. In the Existing entities field, upload a CSV file that contains just the names and addresses of the entities affected by the new store’s opening. These can be stores, shopping center locations of your stores, or other POI types. 

d. When the form is complete, click Submit Request. This report has a 4-7 business day turnaround time. When complete, an interactive Tableau report will be sent directly to the requester. 

Learn about Placer XTRA